Last week, the governor gave his State of the State speech.  He talked a lot about how things have gotten better over the past few years, and he's right.  In early 2010, the unemployment rate in Marion was 11.4%.

In the Harrisburg area, it was 12.1%.  The economy has recovered enough that a lot of people are back to work.  Unemployment is down nearly 3% in those cities, and it's stayed below 10% for more than a year.

The state's capital construction program is still putting thousands of people to work building and repairing roads, bridges, schools, universities, and more.  China is buying more and more Illinois
soybeans.  Factories are opening and growing.  Things aren't where they should be yet, but when everything is said and done, the state of Illinois is looking better than it did two or three years ago.

Then, the governor talked about some things he wants to do.  He wants to give a $50 tax deduction for each child in a family.  He wants to encourage businesses to hire veterans.  He wants to cut taxes on natural gas, which will help families, but really help businesses.  These ideas all sound great, but how do we pay for them?

That brings me to what I think are the only real issues in Springfield this year: jobs and the state budget.  We passed the most balanced budget this state has seen in a long time last year.  We cut billions of dollars in state agency spending, paid our state workers everything we owed for pensions, and started chipping away at our big pile of late bills.

We're going to have to do more this year though.  We've got to look real hard at the budget and find waste and programs we don't need, and we need to get rid of them.  The only thing we shouldn't consider is closing facilities and laying off people.  In the end, layoffs aren't worth it-they hurt the economy more because people who are laid off don't spend money at local stores, pay taxes, or do a lot of other things that help everybody out.

We shouldn't spend any new money or start any new programs unless we are sure that they will create jobs.  In the end, helping create jobs is the best thing that we can do.  It makes people's lives better, and it helps balance the state budget.  If you have any ideas about creating jobs or cutting the budget, I want to hear them.  Call my office at 618-439-2504, or visit my website at www.SenatorForby.com and send me an email.